NAMIBIA must change its country brand, currently flawed with stereotypes, narrow perceptions and cliches, to a bold, multi-layered one which will allow it to compete on a global stage. "Namibia's brand can never be a brand like KFC or McDonald's," Gordon Cook of the National Brand Navigator for South African brand leadership school Vega said at the annual general meeting of Team Namibia on Wednesday.

Denmark has launched a new journalistic shortcut to Denmark: Denmark – Stay Tuned. As the first country in the world Denmark has developed a nation branding smart phone application targeted at international media and journalists.

Is nation-branding effective? Japan is perhaps a good case study. Japan has engaged in a dedicated effort to brand its nation through pop culture, among other things. It is leveraging the popular culture of anime and manga comics to become “cool” in the eyes of the world.

Some players in the tourism industry are of the opinion that Namibia’s branding and slogan as a tourism destination are neither representative, nor are they very effective. “‘Endless Horizons’ – does it actually represent Namibia’s unique essence?” asked London-based Hidden Gem PR Director, Rinaani Musutua.

“South Africa’s brand image shot up considerably. It is now ranked 36th out of the top 50 nation brands and voted the most valuable country brand in Africa by the Brand Finance Nation Brand Index.” ...“The perceptions of South Africa as a dangerous destination have been dispelled once and for all. Even the domestic media have moved away from beating the crime drum..."

After years of torture and imprisonment, Mohamed Nasheed was, at 41, democratically elected to the presidency of the Maldives. The critically acclaimed documentary "The Island President" (98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) tells that story. More centrally, it tells President Nasheed's heroic story of putting a human face on this low-lying island nation, which faces inundation through climate change.

Branding of a country is determined more by its value systems and governance principles. I was in Rwanda last week after one year. Every time I visit the country I observe a number of positive things that we Kenyans have not succeeded in achieving over the years.

A so-called brand ranking of countries, which was held recently by the UK Brand Finance company, shows that Russia, among other BRICS countries, is still very popular with foreign businesspeople as an object for investments.